Teacher Appreciation Week

Last week was Teacher Appreciation Week. Growing up I always respected my teachers and was thankful for all that they did but ever since I entered the education program I have a new respect for teachers. I have never worked so hard at something in my life. I want to make a difference. I want to inspire students. I want to help students find a love of learning for a subject they never thought they would like. I want to show students love and model respect. I strive to do my best and I always feel like there is more to do or things I could have done better. I am never caught up and always have a long to do list but yet the day goes on. I am stressed, tired, and completely overwhelmed but then the bell rings and I see hundreds of smiling faces which makes me smile. I am so lucky to a teacher and although I miss getting more than 3 hours of sleep a night I would not trade any of it for the world. 

Last week was an incredibly interesting week. Below I'll share a few highlights:
- At morning meeting, it was J’s turn to share with the class his favorite part of the school day. He said his favorite part of the school day is Daily 5/ Writer’s Workshop. When another student asked why, he said, “Because the teacher’s are proud of me.” Both Mrs. R and myself spoke up and shared about his improvements and how proud of him we are. He was beaming. 
- Saw a mouse in the hallway. About 30 minutes later, Mrs. R goes to look for the mouse and all of the sudden I hear 30+ kids screaming and running down the hallway. I mumbled to myself, “Looks like they found the mouse!” Some of my kids ran into the hallway but I lured them back in, closed the door, quieted everyone down and started reading from our book, “Wayside School.” As Mrs. R, two other teachers, and the principal tried shooing the mouse outside our classroom was quiet. Mrs. R came back and commended me for how I handled the situation. 
- Teacher Appreciation Week comes with perks. There are not many perks to the job ie. money, but I thoroughly enjoyed the Parent Association's efforts to make us feel special. There was breakfast (I ate Yogurt for the first time), Biaggi's was catered for lunch, and there was Dessert Thursday. It also put a smile on my face to see all the chalk drawings in front of the school. 
- And last but not least, on Thursday, my mentor teacher was out which gave our class the opportunity to do something special for Mrs. R and I think it turned out great!